May is Bladder Cancer Awareness Month

join with aacr to find better ways to prevent and treat bladder cancer

Bladder cancer is the sixth most common type of cancer in the United States. In 2026, approximately 84,530 people are estimated to receive a diagnosis of bladder cancer, and some 17,870 people are expected to die from it, according to estimates by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Bladder cancer is most likely to affect white men. In fact, the incidence rate of bladder cancer is four times higher among men than among women. It is also about twice as high in white males compared with Black, Hispanic, or Asian/Pacific Islander men.

The NCI explains that there are four major types of bladder cancer. The name of each type of cancer indicates the kind of cells that become malignant.

  • Transitional cell carcinoma, which is also called urothelial carcinoma and is the most common form of bladder cancer, begins in the urothelial cells that line the bladder and urinary tract.
  • Squamous cell carcinoma begins in the squamous cells. This type may form after long-term irritation or infection from a parasite called Schistosoma haematobium, which is rare in the United States but common in Africa and the Middle East.
  • Adenocarcinoma begins in glandular (secretory) cells in the lining of the bladder.
  • Small cell carcinoma of the bladder begins in neuroendocrine cells.

Bladder cancer is also described as non-muscle invasive or muscle-invasive depending on if the cancer has spread into the muscle wall of the bladder or beyond it.

Risk factors for bladder cancer include tobacco use, having a family history of the disease, and exposure to certain chemicals in the workplace. Other risk factors include drinking water with high levels of arsenic or chlorine and taking the Chinese herb Aristolochia fangchi, according to the NCI.

Approximately 79.1% of people diagnosed with bladder cancer survived five years or more after diagnosis between 2016 and 2022, according to federal estimates.

One Patient’s Story

When Lesa Kirkman’s bladder cancer eventually failed to respond to treatment, she turned to a clinical trial of a new gene therapy. She was able to stop treatment after three years and has had no recurrences. Read her story in the AACR Cancer Progress Report.

More on Bladder Cancer

People with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer often face a frustrating cycle of surgery to remove tumors, followed by months of monitoring, then more surgery when the cancer returns. However, two recent approvals that use different approaches to deliver treatment directly to the bladder offer options for patients to delay or avoid repeated trips to the operating room. Read more in AACR’s magazine Cancer Today.

Some people with slow-growing cancers are opting to delay treatment and instead undergo active surveillance in which growth of their cancer is monitored through frequent tests and clinic visits. For low-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, this involves getting a cystoscopy, which examines the bladder with a scope inserted through the urethra, every three months for two years and then every six months after the first two years. Learn more about active surveillance for cancer in Cancer Today.

Radical cystectomy, which involves removal of the entire bladder and sometimes other nearby tissues, has long been the standard for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, but a newer strategy may offer a viable alternative for some patients. Transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) is a minimally invasive surgery that removes the tumor through the urethra while leaving the bladder intact. In a clinical trial where TURBT was followed by radiotherapy plus dual immune checkpoint blockade, 84% of patients were alive after 10 years with most maintaining normal bladder function. Learn more on Cancer Research Catalyst, the official AACR blog.

what aacr is doing in bladder cancer research

The AACR supports several researchers for their work in the field of bladder cancer:

for more information

See AACR’s page on bladder cancer. This includes information on the different types of bladder cancer, as well as screening and treatment.